The total driving time was 15 hours 42 minutes. The roads upto Belgaum are beautiful and it is very hard to keep to the legal speed limit.

BHPian MileCruncher recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Yesterday did Bangalore (MG Road) to Mumbai (Parel) through NH48 + Atal Setu.

Key stats

• Start Time - 4:15AM
• Destination Arrival Time - 22:20 Hrs
• Total Time - 18:05 Hrs
• Driving Time - 15:42 Hrs

Eating

• Breakfast - Apoorva Resorts - Benne Dosa
• Coffee at McD at Belagavi
• Lunch - Usha DininG, Kolhapur - Kolhapuri Mutton Thali
• Dinner - Vada Pao at 1st Food Court on North bound Mumbai - Pune Expressway

Route update

• Roads upto Belgaum are beautiful and very hard to keep to the legal speed limit.
• Belgaum - Satara - The diversions just kill all your enthusiasm
• Satara - Pune - Mumbai - Traffic, traffic and some more traffic based on time of the day

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While driving at the hairpin bends on the ghat a lot of the traffic take the hairpin bends driving on the opposite lane.

BHPian whitewing recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

As posted by others, the Bangalore->Malavalli->Chamarajanagar->Dimbham->Coimbatore route has new tarmac, makes the driving a pleasure.

A few points to note on the drive through the tiger reserve.

1. There was a loooong pileup of trucks going towards TN at the Karnataka side (RTO check post), since this is a 2 lane road, with narrow shoulders. These trucks don't wait by pulling over but just sit in the lane. This, for more than a kilometer ! I was unaware of this and spent almost 10 mins waiting in my lane in the truck convoy (and a few other pvt vehicles like me thinking there was a road blockage ahead), till a biker advised me that pvt vehicles can move on. If not for that good chap, I would have been stuck for a long time.
2. Plan for a longer travel time, we were heldup in the ghat for 10-15mins because a tusker decided to snack on paddy that had been spilled on the road by a passing truck.
3. While driving at the hairpin bends on the ghat a lot of the traffic take the hairpin bends driving on the opposite lane. I'd earlier seen laden trucks or buses with longer chassis spill over on the opposite lane, this was understandable given the space and maneuvering constraints. But, here, every other 4 wheeler seemed to switch over to the opposite lane and that too at speed! All these vehicles could have taken the hairpins easily on the correct lane by down shifting. After a couple of this disconcerting flips from RHS - LHS driving by the on coming traffic, I just played safe, by tailing an unladen Eicher truck in the onwards journey and a KSTRC bus on the way back - irrespective of the lane it was.

Kollegala

• Hotel Harsha, breakfast was good. washroom was not (but manageable).
• Saw there were a few more larger restaurants near the bus stand.

CR Pattana

• Nijaguna restaraunts, the place was clean, food was quite good (no south Indian food in evenings) and clean restrooms. A bit pricey. It is about a kilometer deviation from the bypass road into the town.
• GTR right next to the bypass, good location (no feed back on food and washroom since we did not stop here)

Hassanur (just before the start of the ghat on the Karnataka side)

• Bhama Restaurant. Clean washrooms. (no feedback on food, tea was OK)

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The roads become narrower and go through the forest as you drive out of Hubli Karwar Road to SH 43, but very driveable.

BHPian Doc Hudson recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Came back to Bangalore from Goa and Google Maps suggested the below route. Posting an update on this route -

Route:-

Cavelossim >> Karwar>> Ankola >> Yana >> Sirsi >> Haveri >> Devanagere >> Tumkur >> Bangalore

Start time 9 AM : Arrival in Bangalore (Whitefield) 9 PM. 12 hrs drive including 2 stoppages approx 45 mins total.

Route conditions are a mixed bag -

• Goa to Ankola - Good roads . Narrow roads that became wider as we left Goa border. Good view points on the way .
• Ankola to Yana - Good roads with some bad stretches. Roads become narrower and go through the forest as you drive out of Hubli Karwar Road to SH 43, but they are very driveable. The ghat road section is cemented and in good condition.
• Yana to Sirsi- Ok with some bad patches.
• Sirsi to Haveri - the first 25 km road is very bad and stressful with a lot of potholes/ bumps. After that, the road is in fine condition and could drive at 80 - 100 kmph.
• Joined the main national highway in Haveri and maintained good speeds from there.
• Took the STRR before Nelamangala and although it adds 30+ Km, it was very stress free. The entire stretch from Dobbaspet to Hoskote is complete and is a pleasure to drive on.

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Watch out for speed cameras. As I entered Andhra, I could see 2 patrol cars on either side of Kurnool with speed cameras.

BHPian hamster_huey recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Did the BLR-HYD and HYD-BLR legs last week. Apart from what folks have mentioned in the thread above, thought I'll add some interesting points I observed.

1. Left at 3 AM from Bangalore and reached Begumpet at 11.30 AM on a Thursday. This helped me avoid all the private buses along the route. The route is well lit throughout.

2. If you're traveling with a dog, Food Pyramid after you cross Kurnool is a great place to stop. There are proper shades for the car park. Also a good place to take the dog out for a walk.

3. If you are leaving at night, make sure you drive a little slower than your regular speed - encountered quite a few Karnataka special back-breakers (speed breakers) out of nowhere, with the well thought-through zero lighting/zero markers on them. Also the diversion roads are heavily filled with giant craters.

4. Once you cross Telangana, I could see a lot of speed cameras, especially at the intersections. I do not know if they are functional, but will be wise to keep your speeds to less than 80.

5. On the way back, started on a Sunday at 8 AM and reached at 4 PM. This I could do because my stops were limited to a few minutes each and a largely empty highway. Again no private buses. Empty toll gates.

6. Again, watch out for speed cameras. As I entered Andhra, I could see 2 patrol cars on either side of Kurnool with speed cameras. Unlike Telangana, these were mobile speed cams. So can't predict where they'd be next. Thankfully, I was below 80 and I could notice them slightly ahead of time. Others whizzed past me and I'm quite sure they'd be challaned.

7. During the day time, there are a lot of times in the Andhra stretch, where you'd notice tractors with large bales of hay just calmly driving on the right side of the road. You'll also see shepherds with large flocks of goats on the road. Both highly dangerous but it is what it is.

8. If you are on the Whitfield side, please take the Satellite ring road without fail.

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Even after Ankola, when you hit NH66, there are sections where the highway is single lane due to ongoing works and you have to drive slow.

BHPian sidsden recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hello Everyone,

I along with my wife did Bangalore to Galgibaga yesterday in my Venue SX(O) DCT and here's my experience. I was the only one driving.

Left Bangalore (KR Puram) at 4.20 AM and took the Satellite Ring Road after Hoskote. The road was super empty but I had gotten advice from others who had travelled on this road in the wee hours and everyone ensured it was safe. There was a thick fog cover at places and hence I drove well within the 100 kmph speed limit in most places. Our first pit stop was CCD Dabaspet (right next to HP Petrol Bunk).

After a close to 40 mins break, we hit the road again, and the next stop was Apoorva Resorts Davangere. I was driving at the leisurely pace of 80-100 kmph and still managed to reach there in around 2h45m for 200 km.

Post breakfast, we started at 10 AM, and after a quick 10 mins petrol break, continued towards Hubli and took the bypass Hubli - Karwar road towards Yallapur/Ankola. Although we had initially planned to have lunch at Highway Lounge, but because it was barely 2-2.5 hours since breakfast we were not hungry and decided to push on. The plan was to stop somewhere near Yallapur for lunch and did so, at a non-descript place on the route.

After Yallapur, the road conditions become a little patchy, mostly in the ghat section. It is mostly single roads and there are large 18-wheelers and other trucks constantly plying, so you have to be patient. Even after Ankola, when you hit NH66, there are sections when the highway is single lane due to ongoing works and you have to drive slow.

After a quick tea break at a Udupi Restaurant in Karwar, we finished the journey at our homestay near Galgibaga beach, just entering Goa. We reached at 4.50 PM, which is a 12.5 hours time with 2 food, 2 tea and 1 petrol break, with a total drive time around 10 hours.

Today we will continue till Calangute, as we did not want to do the extra 100 km on the same day, as this is our first time driving up this route and we didn't know much what to expect and hence kept the cushion of a night stay in Galgibaga. As a bonus, the beach here is just fabulous. Clean, not at all crowded and we reached just in time for the sunset!

For our return journey this Friday, I am still contemplating between the 3 route options as mentioned by someone just a few posts before in this thread. I am inclined to take the Anmod ghat route since it is the shortest from North Goa but I do not wish to be stuck in that section. Please suggest.

Here's my trip meter from yesterday (pic taken after another 2 km drive to a restaurant at night)

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On the way back from Kukke Subramanya in the Renault Duster, I made the mistake of taking the Bisle Ghat road over the Subramanya - Gundya - Hassan road.

BHPian Tharle Subba recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Travelled to Dharmasthala and Kukke Subramanya a couple of weeks ago in my Duster with family.

• Departure - 6:30 a.m.
• Arrival - 12:15 p.m.
• Route taken - Bangalore - Kunigal - Hassan - Sakleshpur - Gundya - Dharmasthala
• Journey time 5:45 hours including an hour for breakfast

Route conditions

A lot has been said about the roads on this stretch, so sharing my 2 cents as well. The Bangalore - Hassan has excellent roads, only problem area being the entry to Hassan, which is currently under works. From Hassan to Sakleshpur, the roads are decent. Post Sakleshpur, the horrendous roads accompany you for a few kilometers. From there on till Gundya, the journey is a breeze. The roads further up from Gundya till Dharmasthala are good too.

Toll:

• NICE Road - INR 215
• Nelamangala - INR 55
• Bellur - INR 55
• Kadabhalli (Kirisave) - INR 55
• Shantigrama - INR 45

After the darshan of Manjunatha Swamy, halted for the night to explore some other temples close by.

We resumed our return leg the next morning with the itinerary covering visits to Southadka and Kukke Subramanya before heading home.

• Departure - 7 a.m.
• Arrival - 7:30 p.m.
• Route taken - Dharmasthala - Southadka - Kukke Subramanya - Bisle View Point - Hassan - Kunigal - Bangalore
• Journey time - 12:30 hours, including multiple stops

Route conditions

On the way back from Kukke Subramanya, made the mistake of taking the Bisle Ghat road over the Subramanya - Gundya - Hassan road. The Bisle route is terrible, with lots of potholes and surface laced with sharp stones. While the route does allow for scenic views, the bad roads are not worth the effort. I would recommend skipping this road if you are traveling from Subramanya to Bangalore. Once we reached the Hassan leg of NH 75, we were greeted by the chaotic Sunday traffic headed towards Bangalore. After jostling and crawling through tens of kilometers of traffic, reached home exhausted.

Toll

• Shantigrama - INR 45
• Bellur - INR 45
• Nelamangala - INR 55

Stats for the nerds

• Travel time for the roundtrip - 18 hours
• Distance covered - 790 km
• Fuel consumption - 60 litres
• Total toll - INR 570

Happy driving!

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Uber Moto Women will be available across all major parts of Bangalore from 7:30 am to 8:30 pm.

Ride-hailing platform Uber has launched ‘Moto Women’ – a women-only bike taxi service in Bangalore. It is designed to address women’s safety and mobility needs, while also providing flexible earning opportunities to female drivers.

Uber Moto Women will be available across all major parts of Bangalore from 7:30 am to 8:30 pm. The company plans to expand the service to other top cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad in the future.

Like the standard Uber platform, Uber Moto Women riders can share their trip details with up to 5 contacts for real-time tracking. The RideCheck feature monitors irregularities like long stops, mid-way drops, or route deviations. Women riders and drivers also have access to Uber’s 24x7 safety helpline.

According to Uber, flexible working hours, short-distance trips, and easy navigation will make it easier for more women drivers to drive on the platform. Uber Moto Women drivers also have the choice to turn off the option to accept female-only riders.

According to KPMG, bike taxis have merged as one of the fastest-growing transport options in urban India. Over 280 million bike taxi riders were completed across platforms in 2022, with Bangalore alone recording over 1 million rides monthly. 

Coming to the ride, typical KSRTC driving smooth and buttery. No rash driving and hard braking.

BHPian Satish Pari recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Bangalore - Chennai Airavat Club Class 2.0 Review

Last week was in Bangalore on some official work. Thanks to Blusmart for messing up my return journey to the airport from JP Nagar, I missed my flight back to Chennai. Actually this was a blessing in disguise, I could return to Chennai by a bus. I'm an ardent bus fan and my first choice would always be a semi-sleeper service. I really miss the multi-axle semi-sleeper which are slowly becoming relics of the past (at least in the routes I travel regularly)

Missing the flight, I decided to go to Shanthi Nagar and either catch an SETC or a KSRTC service back to Chennai. I checked both websites and plenty of seats were available on SETC. On checking the KSRTC website, the 20:45 Airavat 2.0 service immediately grabbed my attention. Reached Shanthi Nagar at around 7pm, there was an SETC Non A/C Seater Sleeper (new one-green color) but seats were only at the back. The next SETC was being combined with the 19:15 service hence there was some confusion regarding empty seats. Without hesitating went to the KSRTC counter and booked the 20:45 Airavat 2.0 (Volvo 9600) service from Mysore to Chennai.

Had dinner at Adyar Ananda Bhavan and the wait for the bus started. Shanti Nagar is surely a bus-lovers paradise, multiple SETC new and old buses, Kerala RTC Gajaraj Volvo sleeper and so on. Finally this beauty came into platform 3 at 21:00 (15 minute delay). And finally we were of at 21:30 (45 minute delay). Mine was seat number 36 (window) and luckily the adjoining seat was empty. The bus had around 25 passengers in total. Pickep up some passengers on the way and then it was smooth sailing. The interiors were amazing and there was a charger between the two seats. The only break happened at around midnight just before Krishnagiri (Sree Saravana Bhavan). It lasted for close to 20 minutes and then we were off.

Coming to the ride, typical KSRTC driving smooth and buttery. No rash driving and hard braking. Did not cross 85km/hr. Horn was used very minimally. Got dropped at Koyambedu at exactly 5am. 7 hours 30 minutes was a really good time despite having so many diversions enroute. At the rest stop captured some pictures of the 9600 and a few older Club Classes (Volvos and 1 Scania)

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For the onward journey we took the Belgaum / Kolhapur route and returned from Nashik via the Samruddhi Mahamarg Aurangabad - Solapur - Chitradurga route.

BHPian zodiac01 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Did a Bangalore - Pune / Nasik round trip last week. We had done this stretch a few months ago when we took the Solapur route and it appeared a bit time-consuming, so we chose to take the Belgaum / Kolhapur route for the onward journey this time. Some recent reviews on this thread also inspired me to try another shot at this old trusted route. Sharing my findings.

We did an early morning start at 4:15 am from Bangalore, with an equally early breakfast at A2B, Sira at 6:30 am. This place has excellent fresh breakfast options for early starters if you happen to get hungry in this wee hour. We took a quick refuelling break at BP COCO, Kagnoli, around 1:30 pm; followed by a lunch break at Rau Wada, Karad at 3:30 pm and finally reached Pune at 7:30 pm. It took us a good 15 hrs inclusive of three breaks.

Overall road conditions are pretty good between Bangalore - Hubli and Satar - Pune. But the rest will try your patience, predominantly the one-and-a-half service lanes where we encountered moderate to significant traffic. Take extra care when passing slow-moving trucks along these service lanes. Service roads between Belgaum and Kagnoli are not in great shape as these have loose gravel and several undulations. Hopefully, they fix it soon as the construction is going to take longer time.

The return journey from Nasik on a Wednesday afternoon, via the Samruddhi Mahamarg Aurangabad - Solapur - Chitradurga route. Started at 2 pm and drove up to Tuljapur, and took an overnight break at 10 pm. Resumed the following day at 9:00 am after having a darshan and breakfast at Tuljapur, encountered moderate commuter traffic. A quick refuelling break at BP COCO, Zalki. An evening snack break at Pakshala, Sira 6 pm and reached Bangalore at 9:30 pm. With my parents accompanying us on the return trip, we took multiple quick breaks every 2 to 3 hrs to keep them comfortable through the journey. It took us about 8 hrs on day 1 & close to 12 hrs on day 2 summing it to a drive of 20 hrs. Roads are excellent on this route, just keep a watch on those speed humps on the stretch between Vijapur - Hospet.

I would suggest trying out the satellite ring road to ease your entry and exit to Bangalore, especially during peak traffic hours.

With the prevailing construction, unless there is a pressing need to do so, I would avoid driving either of these routes until the majority of construction on the Kolhapur route is complete. Nonetheless, at times all of us have last-minute unexpected travel and we have no options but to go for it.

I will be sharing some stops between Bangalore - Pune route and the Nasik - Solapur - Bangalore route, I hope it helps a few folks planning to travel along these routes.

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I noticed 90% trucks kept to the right lane which was okay until they start overtaking each other which was happening a lot.

BHPian tharian recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I drove last week to Hyderabad (Hi-Tech City) and returned the next day. It was my first drive beyond Gooty although I had ridden up to Dhone many years ago. Things have changed and traffic had increased quote a bit as well. I felt Blore-Hyd needs to be a six lane for the amount of traffic at some sections.

I noticed 90% trucks kept to the right lane which was okay until they start overtaking each other which was happening a lot.  Both up and down drives took 9 hours each with couple of breaks.

The best part of the trip was that I was able to keep a consistent speed most of the duration which gave me a good diesel efficiency and the sad part is the toll cost which was around 850 each way. (Including the Hyd Ring road and the Blore airport road tolls). There were some deviations which was didn't take up much time.

Thanks to few posts, I was able to stop at Food Pyramid on the way for lunch and at Pista House, Kurnool on the return, both of them which had decent food.

The return was at 10:30 am in peak traffic from Hi-Tech city, but once I cleared ring road, it was not bad although there was good amount of trucks and cars upto Kurnool after which it cleared out and it was a relaxed drive upto Chikkaballapur. Thankfully I was able to near Devanahalli when it got completely dark and there was not much congestion at Hebbal either which made me reach home before time.

I wouldn't suggest night driving on this road mainly because of the two lanes and heavy vehicles traffic and the high beam nuisance. Rather leave early and reach the destination early which is not tiring either.

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